Jose Dariel Abreu - 1B - PlayerMultiple sources tell El Nuevo Herald that first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu has defected from Cuba.Abreu, 26, is considered one of the top players in the Cuban professional league and batted .382/.535/.735 this past season. He would be a highly coveted international free agent if he becomes available and is likely to be seeking a contract in excess of the four-year, $36 million deal signed by Yoenis Cespedes in 2012.Source: El Nuevo Herald Aug 11 - 10:52 PM

Abreu is without doubt one of the Top 5 baseball players not in the majors. He would be an awesome get for any team fantasy or reality and has similar skill set to MCab.

His numbers are absolutely amazing everywhere he has played internationally. I saw him play this spring though and I wasn't very impressed. His swing seemed slow and long. He was also quite nonathletic already at age 26 (even compared to 1Bman). It was only one game though and he is going to sign for HUGE money next winter/spring.

footballisbetter.com wrote:looks to be more coveted then Puig our Cespedes. wonder how long before he is in cbs player pool database?

Possibly. I don't think Cespedes was able to showcase himself too much internationally which limited the hype. Puig definitely didn't get a chance since he is still very young. Abreu on the other hand has been a star in several international tourneys.

TheTrith wrote:Any idea when Abreu is expected to sign with a team?Is there any chance at all he signs before the season ends?

No, he won't sign with a team this year as he has to be cleared by MLB as a free agent. He'll likely sign sometime in Jan or Feb like Cespedes did as long as he's actually 26, which all media outlets I've seen concur with.

m16a wrote:I don't know anything about him, but grantland had a piece that was highly praiseworthy of this kid. Seems to be as good a mark of approval as any. I'd love to see the Phillies take a run at this kid. Then again, I think every team would be interested in acquiring him.